Fiber is the Future

A new poll indicates that Americans are eating more – and willing to pay more – for nutritious, high fiber foods.

At the recent W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s 2012 Food & Community Conference, pollsters surveyed the 500 attendees, and found that the majority are now eating more whole grains and fresh produce than they did 5 years ago.

In addition to wanting more fiber for ourselves, turns out we might want to be helping others eat better too. Other findings from the poll include:

• 93% said that it is “somewhat important” or “very important” that Americans have equal access to fresh produce
• More than 80% said that Washington, DC should work to increase access to fresh, healthy food
• Almost 90% said they would pay $1.50 more for produce per month to guarantee a fair wage for those who harvest fruits and vegetables
• 75% said they would support doubling the value of SNAP (food stamp) benefits at Farmer’s Markets

While it is indeed impressive that the USDA has moved to incorporate farmer’s markets in the SNAP (food stamp) program benefits – benefits are not being fully realized. According to the USDA, in California, only 134 of the 687 farmer’s markets statewide – or just 20% – participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

To learn more about utilizing SNAP benefits at your farmer’s market, check out the USDA resource page at: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt/fm.htm

Talking healthy food: what’s the ultimate cop-out for not shelling-out? “Healthy foods just cost too much!”

Is that true? Do healthy foods cost more than not-so-healthy food? Turns out, it depends on who you ask. And how you calculate food cost.

The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) recently took this teaser to task. In their newly published report, “Are Healthy Foods Really More Expensive? It Depends on How You Measure the Price“, the authors analyze three ways to cost food:

• Food Energy: $ per calorie
• Price of Edible Weight: $100 per edible gram
• Price per Average Portion: $ per average portion

For the report, ERS looked at 4,439 food items and analyzed their price per calorie, price per edible gram and price per portion consumed.

And what did they find? The first part is not surprising:

• Foods low in calories – such as fruits and vegetables – are more expensive on the price per calorie scale
• Foods high in calories – those with lots of fat and sugar – are less expensive on the price per calorie scale

But consuming more calories isn’t our goal here people. It’s the quality of those calories that count:

• When looking at edible weight or average portion size, the healthy foods – fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy foods – are not only healthier, but also less expensive than other protein foods that are high in saturated fat, sugar and sodium

The report summarizes what most nutrition professionals already know but consumers fail to believe: healthy food does not cost more.

And it’s not just your savings at the point of purchase that matter. Choosing healthy foods now prevents the ghoulish grocery list of paybacks you don’t want later: diabetes, heart disease, obesity and cancer.

The verdict is in: you can’t blame cost for any more calorie conscious cutbacks!

{This post was featured on the Oldways “Dietitian a Day” for Mediterranean Month – which happens to be May!}

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Much of the geographical focus of the Mediterranean Diet centers on the cuisine and lifestyle in Greece and Italy. But don’t forget about Spain, which also borders the Mediterranean Sea. And when it comes to fresh, Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, the Spaniards are no slouches!

For example, take lentils – or lentejas, as they are called in Spanish. These high-protein legumes are a staple in many dishes throughout the various regions of Spain. In addition to being protein-packed, lentils are a very good source of dietary fiber, and contain iron, phosphorus, copper, folate and manganese.

If you are trying to adopt the Mediterranean Diet principle of cutting back on animal fats and protein – look no further than lentils. With 115 calories, 9 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber per ½-cup serving, lentils are a hearty addition to any meal that will fill you up without filling you out.

Want to start experimenting with lentils today? Check out this Spanish Lentils with Vegetables recipe, courtesy of Wendy Jo Peterson, MS, RD and the Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Dummies.

Spanish Lentils with Vegetables

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, mashed
• 4 ounces Spanish chorizo or Portuguese sausage (linguiça)
• 2 cups dried green lentils
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 2 medium carrots, sliced in ½-inch rounds
• 1 large potato, cut in 1-inch cubes
• 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt to taste

Directions

1. In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
2. Add the sausage and cook for 5 minutes. Add the dried lentils, chopped tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and spinach and sauté for 3 minutes.
3. Pour the stock over the vegetable mixture, season with the cumin, paprika, and bay leaf, and bring mixture to a boil. Drop the temperature to medium-low and simmer the lentil mixture for 30 minutes or until tender. Season with salt to taste, remove the bay leaf, and serve.

Per serving: Calories 353 (from fat 11); Fat 12g (Saturated 3g); Cholesterol 12mg; Sodium 234mg; Carbohydrate 43g (Dietary Fiber 7g); Protein 19g

If you think fat and flour when you think of pizza – think again. I recently tried Flatout Flat Breads as an alternative to pizza crust, thanks in part to a generous sample package sent by Flatouts coupled with a hankering for some healthy pizza.

Pizza can be a nutritious delivery vehicle for vegetables, although thick, doughy crust – while no doubt delicious – renders traditional pizza a “sometimes” food for the health conscious crowd.

Now, if you’re looking to make pizza an “everyday” food – check out Flatouts. These “low-carb, high-fiber flatbreads” have between 90-120 calories with anywhere from 3-9 grams of fiber per serving, depending on the variety and flavor.

I put together two quick pizza meals with Flatouts – recipes created from ingredients I found in my refrigerator, and ended up with a Mediterranean Madness Flatbread Pizza and a Bangin’ Butternut Squash Chicken Flatbread Pizza.

Both pizzas took less than 5 minutes to assemble, a mere 5 minutes to cook, and although I wish I could say it took me longer than 5 minutes to scarf them down…well, that would be like saying the world is Flat.

Go ahead, try these two flatbread recipes out for yourself, and start putting more pizza pizazz into your daily dinners!

Mediterranean Madness Flatbread Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 Flatout Light Garden Spinach flatbread
• 1 Tbs pesto
• 1/2 cup sliced artichoke hearts
• 2 Tbs diced sun-dried tomato
• 2 Tbs feta cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Bake Flatout on rack for 4 minutes. Remove Flatout and spread pesto over the flatbread. Top with artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomato. Sprinkle with 2 Tbs feta cheese. Bake for 5 minutes.

Nutrition Information

275 calories, 14 g fat, 535 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 18 g fiber, 17 g protein

Bangin’ Butternut Squash Chicken Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 Flatout Honey Wheat flatbread
• 1/2 cup pureed, cooked, seasoned butternut squash
• 2 cups fresh, loosely packed baby spinach
• 1/4 cup diced cooked chicken breast
• 1/4 cup sliced red onions
• 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Bake Flatout on rack for 4 minutes. Remove Flatout and spread pureed, cooked, seasoned butternut squash over the flatbread. Top with baby spinach, diced cooked chicken breast and 1/4 cup sliced red onions. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 5 minutes.

Nutrition Information*

250 calories, 6 g fat, 250 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 28 g protein

*Nutrition analysis does not reflect added salt or pepper to taste

It was 150 years ago today – May 15, 1862 – that President Abraham Lincoln signed off on legislation creating the United States Department of Agriculture.

While you might think of the USDA as nothing more than a stamp on your certified beef cheeks – they are actually the agency responsible for your nutritional well-being. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) arm of the USDA is tasked with administration of our nation’s nutrition assistance and education programs.

In an era of bad news about obesity and expanding waist-lines, here’s a short list of the nutrition milestones and accomplishments that the USDA is responsible for:

• Promoted canning and Victory Gardens that fed Americans during two World Wars
• Feeds over 30 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program each school day
• Provides nutritious food for over 9 million women, infant and child participants in the WIC program each year
• Teaches consumers about food safety with their unique Ask Karen web-based tool
• Encourages Americans to make half their plate full of fruits and vegetables at www.choosemyplate.gov

To learn more about the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service nutrition assistance programs, visit their website here.